Sunday, June 19, 2016

Mystery of the bent trees

The mystery of the bent trees which are dotted all over the United States have baffled experts for decades. But now, one researcher is investigating the theory that the unusual trees are not a natural phenomena but a secret marker for Native Americans finding their way through the forests.

Dennis Downes heard stories growing up about the native tribes who once dwelled around Lake Michigan. More than a century ago, tribes would use hidden trails to find safe passage through the forests and across the water, Atlas Obscura reports. The Native Americans would cultivate young trees, bending them into shape to mark the path, Downes claims. And while the tribes may have long since vanished from the woods, the trees remain as markers to forgotten paths, from a largely forgotten way of life.

Don Wells, whose Mountain Stewards began finding marker trees in Georgia around 2003, said that tribal elders have confirmed the practice used to be routine among Native Americans"